Mum charged with murder
Community in shock after toddler sisters die in scalding heat
AQUEENSLAND MOTHER WAS charged with murder this week after her two young girls were found dead inside a black station wagon as temperatures outside soared to 31 degrees.
Paramedics tried to revive Darcey-Helen, 2, and 1-year-old Chloe-Ann on Saturday, but both had died from exposure to the extreme heat. Their 27-year-old mum, Kerri-Ann Conley, was remanded in custody to appear at Beenleigh Magistrates Court on December 11. She is also accused of drug possession.
Darcey-Helen’s shattered father, who also acted as a dad to Chloe-Ann, said they were loved by everyone they met. “I absolutely adored them both,” he told the Courier Mail. “They were just two peas in a pod.”
9 News reported that when Conley discovered them, she desperately splashed them with water to cool them down, but they had allegedly been there for hours.
Temperatures inside cars can reach up to 30 degrees higher than those outside, according to a government report. Threequarters of this rise takes place in the first few minutes. Even when it’s only 21 degrees and cloudy, the internal heat can top 40 degrees within half an hour. When it’s 35 degrees outside, the vehicle’s interior could hit 60 degrees, enough to kill a human or animal within minutes. Dark coloured cars can go even higher. And cracking open windows makes surprisingly little difference.
Over 5000 Aussie kids are rescued every year after being left in cars. In the US, 54 children have died so far this year.
Meanwhile, the RSPCA has revealed they are called out 10 times a day to rescue dogs from oven-like vehicles. An animal can die within six minutes, even if it’s left with water. Owners can be hit with $50,000 fines and up to five years in prison for cruelty.